


Triple Drabble: Nothing You Can Measure.

by Lanna Michaels (lannamichaels)



Category: Vorkosigan Saga - Lois McMaster Bujold
Genre: Alternate Universe, Comment Fic, Community: fic_promptly, Duelling, Fratricide, Leonard Cohen Lyrics, Song Lyric Title, Time Period: First Cetagandan War, Time Period: Reign of Dorca Vorbarra, Time Period: Reign of Xav Vorbarra, Triple Drabble
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-04-11
Updated: 2011-04-11
Packaged: 2017-10-17 22:24:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 300
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/181912
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lannamichaels/pseuds/Lanna%20Michaels
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>I've seen the future, brother -- it is murder.</i>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	Triple Drabble: Nothing You Can Measure.

**Author's Note:**

> Written for [](http://cypher.dreamwidth.org/profile)[**cypher**](http://cypher.dreamwidth.org/) 's prompt on [](http://fic-promptly.dreamwidth.org/profile)[**fic_promptly**](http://fic-promptly.dreamwidth.org/) : _any, any, I've seen the future, brother -- it is murder_.
> 
>  
> 
> * * *
> 
> That prompt and the title are from The Future by Leonard Cohen.

Xav studies the fallen leaves and then glances upwards at the stars in the skies, scanning the tree line. And he turns on his heel and leaves it all behind, and the next morning, he tells his father that it had been mere accident, and he succeeds so well in forgetting all about it that he only remembers it decades later, fighting in a war he should have seen coming.

But in another world, Xav looks at his brother and he looks at the corpses and he says to his armsmen, "leave us."

Yuri laughs at him as Xav inspects his dagger and his longsword and when Xav says, "duel with me, brother," Yuri meets him with glee and force.

The armsmen later tell Dorca they had seen nothing. Xav tells his father his hand slipped.

His father doesn't believe a word, but two days later, he dies of the illness he had contracted from the Cetagandan bioweapons, and Pierre le Sanguinaire looks at Xav with something like respect in his eyes when he goes down on one knee.

"Didn't think you had it in you, boy," old Pierre says approvingly.

They bury the Emperor and the Crown Prince at one time, Xav and ten trusted men sneaking into Vorbarr Sultana in the dead of the night to perform a son and brother's final duty, and Xav ascends the throne with his brother's blood on his hands and an aching conscience and a war still to win.

It takes them another decade to win the war, and if Xav ever wonders what could have been, he remembers the look in his brother's eyes at the moment when Xav realized that he could never trust Yuri with his Empire, not after this, and he tells himself that he doesn't regret it.


End file.
